'Kian's Bizarre B&B' takes on bed and breakfast in ocean with BTS Jin and 'SNL Korea' star
Celebrities explore guesthouse experience in space dreamt up by star cartoonist
Netflix Korea's latest original variety show, "Kian's Bizarre B&B," brings together one of South Korea's most popular cartoonists Kian84, BTS superstar Jin and "Saturday Night Live Korea" star Ji Ye-eun for an imaginative take on the guesthouse reality format.
Set aboard a bed and breakfast in the middle of the ocean near Ulleung-do, the series follows the trio as they host a rotating cast of guests in a space dreamt up by Kian84 himself. The artist's vision, translated into a fully built set, features fantastical elements like a rock-climbing entrance, cocoon-shaped tea rooms and slide exits.
The series is helmed by producer Jung Hyo-min, who created one of Korea's most beloved celebrity guesthouse shows, "Hyori's Homestay."
Jung revealed during a press conference Tuesday in Jung-gu, Seoul, that the concept for "Kian's Bizarre B&B" took shape as he explored ways to reimagine "Hyori's Homestay" for a more contemporary audience.
'I think I worked on 'Hyori's Homestay' around 2018. Since then, I've continued working with writer Yoon Shin-hye, and we would sometimes talk about this during planning meetings -- what could a modern version of a guesthouse variety show look like?' said Jung.
'But we always hit a wall. ... No matter who we considered casting, we kept wondering -- could it ever be more interesting than 'Hyori's Homestay'?' he added.
Then came cartoonist Kian84, who rose to rockstar celebrity status with his quirky personality on a slew of popular Korean entertainment shows.
'If (the show led by Kian84) were to happen, it seemed like it would naturally turn into a show with a completely different vibe from traditional guesthouse programs,' Jung explained.
Much of that new energy came from the outlandish setting, originally sketched by Kian84. Producer Lee So-min shared that the production team was committed to translating Kian84's artistic vision into reality.
'We wanted to bring our imagination to life just as we had envisioned it and we hoped the set would closely match Kian84's drawings,' said Lee. 'The art director, who has worked on many beautiful projects like 'Youn's Kitchen,' said, 'This is the kind of house that a professional would never even imagine.' The art director happily took it on as a new and exciting challenge.'
The casting of Jin added even more star power and potential to the project. The producers said they aimed to showcase new sides of the BTS member rarely seen in his previous variety appearances.
'Ji Ye-eun was recommended by Kian84, and as for Jin, when I saw him in some of his variety content, it felt like not even a tenth of his charm was coming through,' said Jung. 'I thought that if we could bring out (Jin's) charm through this kind of variety show, it could be a win for everyone.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
10 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Different layers of motifs, puzzles bring stylish take on 65-year-old female killer
'The Old Woman with the Knife' and its film adaptation offer diverging visions of aging, violence and redemption "The Old Woman with the Knife" by Gu Byeong-mo follows a female assassin nearing the end of her career — a striking and compelling premise that has proven irresistible for adaptation. The hardboiled Korean action-thriller novel, originally published in 2018, was reimagined as a musical last year and its film adaptation premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. It follows the story of Hornclaw (played by Lee Hye-young), a 65-year-old assassin whose age is beginning to catch up with her, and Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol), an enigmatic young man who trails her with unclear motives. Her line of work, already dangerous, grows more precarious as she ages, and the world around her begins to see her as obsolete. 'She's like the legendary gunman whose hands have started to shake,' said director Min Kyu-dong at a press conference. 'Then a hotheaded newcomer shows up and challenges her to a duel. When she refuses, he starts firing wildly to provoke a confrontation.' Both the novel and the film center their narratives on this aging killer. But while the book turns inward, delving into the psychological weight of growing old — questions of powerlessness and the meaning of existence — the film leans outward, embracing visual spectacle through action-packed confrontations, tense chases and uneasy alliances. At its best, the film is not a retelling, but a divergent reflection of the same story — like a puzzle assembled from the same pieces, yet arranged into an entirely different picture. Bullfight and Hornclaw: Rivalries in two registers One of the starkest differences between the novel and the film lies in the characterization of Bullfight. In the film, his backstory is clearer and more emotionally grounded, hinting at a traumatic event that not only fuels his obsession with defeating Hornclaw but also his desperate need to leave a mark on her life. For the film to work, Bullfight's world had to be as robust as Hornclaw's, according to the director. "What could have pushed a young man to seek out a showdown with an aging killer? Perhaps a traumatic event, powerful enough to upend his entire life, is what drives him," said Min. 'With a novel, if something doesn't make sense, you can close the book and come back later. In a film, the moment passes, and if you don't understand, the rest of the story might not land.' The novel resists clarity. Bullfight's motivations remain ambiguous, his feelings toward Hornclaw unreadable. Gu has consistently declined to offer any clarification since the novel's release. 'It's the part readers are most curious about,' she said. 'But if I give a clear answer, the mystery disappears. I want readers to sit with their own questions.' Power struggle Another key divergence appears in the portrayal of the fictional company. In the novel, the shadowy organization of contract killing is referred to only vaguely as 'the agency." Both Hornclaw and her former partner and mentor, Ryoo (Kim Moo-yul), recognize the moral compromise inherent in their line of work, fully aware that their so-called 'clean-up' jobs are, in the end, acts of unforgivable violence. In the film, the moral framing is more ambiguous — even somewhat palatable. Hornclaw describes her work as a kind of sacred duty, targeting only those whose crimes seem to warrant death. There are boundaries, rules that govern her actions. The agency's director, Son (Kim Kang-woo), harbors ambitions to modernize it and ultimately edge Hornclaw out. Their conflict deepens as Son aligns with the newcomer, advocating for new ethics and methods within the agency. This clash reflects not only generational tensions but also a clash over justice, efficiency and the value of human life, leaving the aging Hornclaw increasingly sidelined and dismissed. Moral ambiguity Similar to the ethics of the agency that Hornclaw clings to, the film portrays her as a figure holding onto some sense of justice and righteousness, with her first love, Ryoo, also lingering as a sacred yet mysterious presence in her past. For example, Hornclaw's first murder is deliberately ambiguous in the film. The novel, however, offers a harsher, more unsettling interpretation: Ryoo intentionally abandons the young Hornclaw in a dangerous situation, out of a need to take care of the offender. Far from heroes, the novel suggests that neither Hornclaw nor Ryoo was innocent or virtuous. The novel devotes considerable space to Hornclaw's troubled history: her years of drifting from place to place, during which she was driven to steal not out of necessity but recklessness, her fraught relationship with Ryoo, and her child (omitted entirely from the film). This portrayal adds a layer of moral ambiguity and emotional complexity to the story. Many symbolic motifs — existence and disappearance, wounds, loss and recovery, salvation and violence — are intricately woven into the book. The film, likewise, is layered with motifs and puzzles. According to the director, even something as simple as a car's license plate hides a code. 'I hope that discovering these subtle details will be a small but rewarding pleasure for the audience and book fans alike," said Min "The Old Woman with the Knife" novel is available in English, translated by Chi-Young Kim, as well as in several other languages in 13 countries. hwangdh@
Korea Herald
14 hours ago
- Korea Herald
4 BTS members to complete military service next week
Four members of the K-pop supergroup BTS -- RM, V, Jimin and Jungkook -- will be discharged from their mandatory 18-month military service next week, the boy band's agency said Saturday. RM, the leader of the group, and V will complete their military service Tuesday, followed by Jimin and Jungkook the next day, according to BigHit Music. For safety reasons, there will be no public event to mark their military discharge, the agency said, asking BTS fans to refrain from visiting the locations where they will be released. "We kindly ask fans to send their warm welcome and support from their hearts to RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook," it said. Of the seven-member group, Jin and J-Hope completed their military service last year, and Suga is scheduled to be discharged June 21 after serving in a social service program, an alternative form of military service in South Korea. In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve between 18 and 21 months in the military. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Annual Culture Communication Forum to crown winners of sustainable K-Style contest
International gathering showcases finalists with creative takes on Korean tradition The Corea Image Communication Institute will hold its 16th annual Culture Communication Forum on Thursday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, wrapping up a monthslong global contest centered on "sustainable K-style." The event will bring together senior diplomatic and business leaders for a ceremony recognizing the competition's finalists and winners. KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung will deliver opening remarks, with congratulatory messages from Italian Ambassador Emilia Gatto and Japanese Ambassador Koichi Mizushima. EU Ambassador Maria Castillo Fernandez will join around 10 other ambassadors in attendance. Corporate attendees include Seo Jung-ho, chair of the Ambassador Hotel Group; Cho Jung-il, chair of The Hanok Heritage; and Sean Blakeley, chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea and Honorary Ambassador of Foreign Investment Promotion for Korea. Franz Hotten, president of Pernod Ricard Korea, will also attend alongside some 60 guests. The forum's centerpiece will be a live vote to determine the winners among 12 finalists, selected from entries submitted between March 20 and May 30. Participants submitted ideas for reimagining Korean cultural traditions through a sustainability lens, exploring how K-style can evolve for future generations across music, cuisine, film and fashion. Finalists will present their entries, ranging from video clips to spoken presentations in Korean, during Thursday's event. The video competition features long- and short-form categories, each with four finalists. The grand prize winner in the long-form category will receive a prize package worth 3 million won (around $2,213), including 1 million won in cash. The short-form winner will receive a 2 million won package, with 700,000 won in cash. For the Korean speech segment, contestants from the United States, Spain, China, France and Egypt will compete for the grand prize. Each will deliver a three-minute speech on sustainable K-style, with the winners determined by real-time audience voting. The top prize is valued at 3 million won, including 1.5 million won in cash. The forum begins with registration at 4:40 p.m., followed by the main program at 5 p.m. A special pansori performance by French artist Mapo Lor will round out the ceremony. Founded in 2003 and officially registered with the Foreign Ministry, CICI promotes Korea's global image through cultural exchange. Since 2010, its annual CCF has served as a global platform for dialogue among cultural and diplomatic leaders.
